A Dolphin Moved Into Venice. Within Months, People Had Injured It.

A juvenile bottlenose dolphin had entered the Venetian Lagoon in June 2025, drifted north through the summer, and by October had settled near San Marco Square, one of the most visited tourist destinations on Earth. What followed was not a heartwarming story of nature reclaiming a city. It was a lesson in what happens when a wild animal gets trapped in a crowd that doesn’t know how to behave.

By November, the dolphin had fresh propeller wounds on its back. Scientists had been documenting mounting interference for months. Now they had photographic evidence of what that interference can do.

Researchers from the University of Padova monitored the dolphin for six months and published their findings in the journal Frontiers in Ethology. The researchers argue that the dolphin did not need rescuing from the lagoon itself. The greater risk came from how people behaved around it.

Bottlenose dolphins are protected under Italian law, European Union habitat directives, and international wildlife agreements. Deliberate disturbance is prohibited, and in some cases can constitute a criminal offense, particularly if it results in significant harm to the animal. None of that stopped the guided boat tours from circling the dolphin. None of it stopped people from throwing objects into the water, lunging for photographs, or attempting contact. The dolphin, hunting mullet in the shadow of some of the world’s most iconic architecture, had become a spectacle. And spectacles attract crowds willing to break rules for content.

How the Venice Dolphin Got Hurt

Shortly after arriving, the dolphin was identified by the unique markings on its dorsal fin. It was estimated at about two meters long and appeared healthy. Researchers from the university’s Cetacean Strandings Emergency Response Team, known as CERT, conducted weekly boat surveys throughout the summer and fall, supplemented by reports from citizens, local authorities, and the Venice Natural History Museum.

Alongside signs of active feeding and normal behavior, they documented a steady pattern of illegal interference. Visitors tried to hand-feed the animal. Boats maneuvered at unsafe distances. The dolphin was showing early signs of habituation to human contact, beginning to follow vessels and show interest in people. In solitary dolphins, that shift is a warning. Animals that lose their natural wariness around humans become far more vulnerable to injury.

On November 12, 2025, CERT photographed lesions on the dolphin’s dorsal fin and back consistent with a propeller strike. The source was never confirmed, though researchers had documented weeks of illegal boat approaches in the same waters. Three days later, Italian authorities launched a coordinated removal attempt. Fourteen motorboats and patrol vessels spread across the basin. Some used acoustic deterrent devices; others banged metal bars underwater to create sharp bursts of noise. The 90-minute operation was designed to push the dolphin out of the high-risk area.

It moved about three kilometers south. Then it came back.

Why Driving It Away Didn’t Work

The failure of the November intervention wasn’t a shock to anyone who studies these animals. Bottlenose dolphins are among the most adaptable marine mammals on Earth. One that has found reliable food in a location doesn’t abandon it because of temporary disturbance. Research on acoustic deterrents used in fishing contexts, where dolphins are routinely chased from nets with similar devices, consistently shows that habituation, not permanent displacement, is the typical result. The San Marco Basin is already an extremely loud environment due to constant boat traffic, which further limits the effectiveness of adding more noise.

Beyond that, repeatedly exposing the dolphin to acoustic deterrents carries its own risks. Researchers note that long-term sound exposure can cause behavioral stress and potential hearing damage in small dolphins, effects that can’t be detected just by watching the animal from a boat.

Capturing and relocating the dolphin was raised by some Venetian citizens and organizations as a rescue option. Researchers rejected this firmly. A condition called capture myopathy can trigger a severe stress reaction in wild dolphins, causing muscle damage, organ shutdown, and death. Handler safety is also a serious concern. Even if capture went smoothly, an animal conditioned to a rich food source in an inland waterway would likely return, or find another lagoon to repeat the pattern.

The Real Problem Was Never the Dolphin

The paper ultimately points to human behavior and inconsistent enforcement as the core management problem. CERT issued a Code of Conduct in June requiring boats to stay at least 50 meters from the dolphin and prohibiting feeding, noise-making, and contact attempts. Compliance was inconsistent. Violations continued through November, when the propeller injuries were photographed.

Solitary dolphins that settle in urban harbors and waterways are not rare. Several have died from human interference, struck by boats, injured through contact, or stressed by relentless disturbance. What typically determines whether they survive is whether authorities manage public behavior effectively during those periods. In Venice, enforcement proved inconsistent.

The paper’s conclusion is clear: “If managed properly, the case of the ‘dolphin of Venice’ could serve as an exemplary model for human-wildlife coexistence in urban environments.”

That outcome is still possible. Bottlenose dolphins were historically present in the Venetian Lagoon before centuries of hunting and overfishing drove Adriatic dolphin populations to collapse. The species survived where others didn’t precisely because of its tolerance for noisy, degraded, heavily trafficked environments. An animal willing to feed in the shadow of San Marco Square is not fragile. What the evidence from 2025 makes clear is that the greater threat wasn’t the lagoon. It was the selfie.

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